ABB has agreed to acquire Manchester-headquartered electrical diagnostics specialist IPEC, strengthening its push into predictive monitoring for critical infrastructure.
The Swiss technology group said IPEC brings more than 30 years of expertise in electrical diagnostics, with advanced monitoring systems that track critical electrical infrastructure around the clock.
The technology uses AI and advanced analytics to predict failures that can lead to multi-million-dollar losses, safety risks or extended outages and the transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026, with financial terms not disclosed.
ABB is positioning the deal around the growing need for operational resilience as organisations become more dependent on continuous uptime.
It pointed to partial discharge activity – small electrical sparks that signal early-stage insulation failure – as a major driver of unplanned outages, stating it is responsible for more than 80% of asset breakdowns before an unexpected outage.
The acquisition will expand its Electrification Service portfolio and is intended to support customers shifting from reactive maintenance to proactive asset management.
The business said this approach can reduce downtime by up to 90%, cut maintenance costs by as much as 85%, and extend the life of critical infrastructure “by decades”.
“Across critical industries, the cost of downtime is staggering, from multi-million-dollar revenue losses in data centers to the safety and reliability risks facing utilities and hospitals,” said Stuart Thompson, division president of ABB Electrification Service.
“This acquisition gives our customers the diagnostic intelligence they need to prevent failures before they happen.
“By turning complex monitoring data into clear, actionable insights, we’re enabling businesses to shift from reactive repairs to predictive maintenance, so they can focus on performance while their critical infrastructure runs leaner, cleaner, and smarter.”
IPEC is headquartered in Manchester and employs around 70 people across sites in Oxford, Abu Dhabi, Sweden, Riyadh and Texas.
Founded in 1995, the company was established to help transfer cutting-edge technology into the power industry by creating a closer dialogue between academic research, industry and commerce.
Over time, it has expanded from an initial base in UK utilities to serve customers globally, with data centres now described as its largest and fastest-growing market segment, particularly in the US.
Dr Colin Smith, managing director of IPEC, added: “At IPEC, we’ve spent decades refining how partial discharge data can be translated into meaningful diagnostics through advanced algorithms and, more recently, AI and machine learning.
“By joining ABB, we can both continue to develop our technology and bring our innovations to more industries and markets, turning complex data into predictive insight that anticipates potential failures and enables industries to make more strategic, intelligent decisions about their electrical assets.”
ABB said the deal highlights its focus on electrification and automation as it works to help customers improve performance while becoming more efficient and sustainable.
The company has more than 140 years of history and over 110,000 employees worldwide, with shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm.